The early morning sky was clear, with the sun shining dully on the horizon. The grass was swaying slightly, and the tree leaves were lightly frosted. On an oak tree branch near the border, Warmpaw was perched, staring out into the WindClan moors. The cold breeze blew, ruffling his fur. He took a deep breath and exhaled it shakily.

He looked down at himself, noticing his fur, which had thickened over the course of a few weeks. It was probably why he hadn't been as bothered by the cold as before, despite the weather getting chillier and chillier.

It had been a long time since he had first started racing with Thistlepaw. After that, they decided to race every three nights. Through that time, they had grown closer. Warmpaw and Thistlepaw became friends. Real ones.

Every night, they talked, shared stories and opinions. Warmpaw no longer knew her simply as pretty, now seeing that she was also a kind, passionate apprentice who really cared for her Clan. She really inspired him.

Now, he was hoping to get a glimpse of her before returning back to camp. Unfortunately, there was no one out.

"Will you get down from there?" A meow from below made him jump in surprise, and he climbed higher up the tree. He looked down and saw Twigpaw, looking up at him.

"Warmpaw!" Twigpaw called again.

Warmpaw refused to come down, giving him a defiant look. "No!"

He could hear Twigpaw sigh below. "Warmpaw, if you're not coming down right now, I'll fish you from up there." When Warmpaw didn't reply, Twigpaw leered at him.

"I mean it," he warned.

Warmpaw groaned audibly, frustrated. He jumped down from the branch. "It was nice and cool up there," he sulked.

"In case you've forgotten," Twigpaw said matter-of-factly, rolling his eyes, "it's Archkit's apprentice ceremony today."

"Now?" Warmpaw was really surprised.

Twigpaw exhaled, the cold making a cloud of his breath. "Yes, and we have to get there as quick as possible. It's probably started already."

"It's really like you to want to see Archkit."

Twigpaw's whiskers twitched nervously. "Y-You know what, let's just go." He swivelled his ears. Warmpaw nodded and followed him in running back to camp.

Thankfully, the ceremony hadn't started yet when they arrived. Archkit was still beside Moondrop and Maplebranch, the former licking her fur straight. Her tail was arched, as it usually did when she was happy or pleased. Ivystar was talking with Redstep, gesturing with her tail. The two apprentices swiftly picked a sheltered spot with a good view of the clearing.

"Nothing happening yet," Warmpaw observed with a long exhale. "You're overreacting, Twigpaw."

"At least we're early," his littermate retorted.

Warmpaw shrugged, admitting that Twigpaw was right after all. Besides, Warmpaw thought, I want to see my best friend become an apprentice.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a Clan meeting!" Ivystar called out from the Highledge. The other Clan members came out of their dens.

Twigpaw smiled. "Here we go."

Warmpaw agreed with a tail wave. "Yeah."

Archkit was gently ushered forward by Moondrop, who was watching with eyes filled with love. Maplebranch whispered something into Archkit's ear before she went, and her smile grew even wider.

Warmpaw felt proud for her. As he saw how she stepped out into the clearing, he remembered his own apprentice ceremony, feeling the butterflies in his stomach reappear.

I hope she gets a good mentor. He looked over at the part of the camp where Goldenfur was sitting. He appeared to have just woken up and still groggy from sleep, yawning. His pelt stuck up at places, with bits of moss clinging to it.

Warmpaw had absolutely no idea what the ginger tom thought of him. He didn't know whether he really despised him or not. I mean, there was that one day, remembered Warmpaw, but that didn't work out.

Ivystar raised her head. "Archkit, you are now six moons," she recited, "and I believe you are ready to be an apprentice."

"Ready!" Archkit piped.

A few cats giggled lightly, and Warmpaw shared an awkward grin with Twigpaw. She's really enthusiastic!

Ivystar smiled. "I like your eagerness, Archkit." She continued, "From this day onward, Archkit is now to be called Archpaw. Your mentor will be Rainstorm."

Warmpaw gave a pleased huff. Rainstorm will be a good mentor.

She turned to the gray cat, who had a wide smile on. "Rainstorm, you have been trained well by Thrushflight, and have shown yourself to be brave and full of energy. Train Archpaw well, and pass on your knowledge to her."

Rainstorm stood up and the newly-named Archpaw rushed over to meet her halfway. They touched noses and shared a few encouraging whispers.

All the cats in the camp cheered for them. "Archpaw! Archpaw! Archpaw!" Warmpaw made sure that his yowl was among the loudest. Twigpaw was giving it his all, and Sandpaw, from her spot next to the apprentices' den, was cheering hard as well.

Archpaw went to her parents and gave them a few loving nuzzles. They responded with licks to her cheek. Warmpaw watched, getting a bittersweet feeling from watching Archpaw so close to her parents. He terribly missed Yellowleaf and Hawkeye, and the close relationship they had back when he was a kit. I'll go talk to them later, he resolved, and that thought cheered him.

Archpaw bounced over to where Warmpaw and Twigpaw were staying. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Twigpaw replied.

"Yeah," agreed Warmpaw, "Congratulations!"

Archpaw looked around. "Where's Sandpaw?"

"Right here!" Sandpaw appeared behind her. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Archpaw replied with a smile. "This means I can really join you?"

Warmpaw flicked her ears with his tail. "'Course it does, crazy!"

"You'll be able to sleep in the apprentices' den now, and we can talk about training and other things," added Sandpaw. "Trust me, it'll be great!"

"I made you a nest," mewed Twigpaw. "It's right next to mine."

"Thanks, Twigpaw!" Archpaw beamed at him.

Warmpaw bounced to his paws, eyes glinting. "Well, the day's just started. There are still a lot of things to do. But now, we have you with us!" He winked at Archpaw.

"Exactly," meowed Sandpaw. She stretched luxuriously then smiled, ears twitching. "Hopefully, our mentors decide to keep us all together."

Twigpaw and Archpaw nodded simultaneously.

Later, they went off to get a few pieces of prey from the freshkill pile. Archpaw and Warmpaw picked squirrels. Twigpaw snatched up a thrush and Sandpaw selected a vole.

"When do you think I'm going to start practicing?" Archpaw asked after they had settled down.

Warmpaw shrugged, observing Rainstorm and a couple of other of his Clanmates exit. "Not sure," he said through a mouthful of freshkill, "Rainstorm seems pretty occupied at the moment. I think she's on patrol. If you want, you can ask her later."

Twigpaw and Sandpaw came over and settled down next to them. Sandpaw looked at Archpaw, and saw that she was trying to hold back a chuckle. "What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing, really," Archpaw purred, "It's just that it's been a while since we last got together like this. I think the last time was back when we were little kits. It makes me happy to do this again." The group of four fell silent for a moment.

Warmpaw sighed. "You're right. Sorry. I suppose we got a little too wrapped up in things."

"It's okay. I'm here now!" Archpaw meowed energetically. "It'll be a lot easier for us to meet now that I'm an apprentice like you."

Warmpaw purred. "I'm glad you haven't changed a bit."

"I am too," agreed Twigpaw, flashing a smile. He pushed his thrush to Archpaw. "Want to try some?"

"Sure!" Archpaw hooked it with a claw, taking a bite of it. "Thanks! Here, have some of my squirrel."

Warmpaw noticed Sandpaw trying to share her vole. Vole. He flinched a little, feeling a little shiver run down his spine. "Oh no," he shook his head rapidly. "I don't like vole."

Sandpaw complained. "But Warmpaw, I can't finish an entire vole by myself."

"I can help if you want," Twigpaw said.

"Thanks."

Warmpaw smiled, looking at the other three sharing their meal. He looked up at the sky. More gray clouds were rolling in. He huffed.

Archpaw scooted closer to Warmpaw. "Your tail's all messed up," she mentioned to him.

Warmpaw looked back at his tail, dried leaf bits caught in the tangles. "I was sightseeing earlier on a tree branch," he admitted. "I wanted to get some air."

Archpaw offered, "I'll fix it for you, if you want."

Warmpaw nodded. "Thanks," he said, moving his tail.

When she finished, Warmpaw was impressed at how good she was at grooming. He stood up and waved his tail a little. "It's never looked better! Thank you!"

"Wow!" Sandpaw exclaimed. "You're good!"

"No problem!" purred Archpaw, "Moondrop taught me a little."

"I would groom you too, but I'm probably just going to ruin what Moondrop's done for you." Warmpaw meowed brightly. "You look great as it is."

Archpaw's mouth opened in a wide smile.

"My tail looks like it could use some licking," Twigpaw casually mentioned. "If it's okay, can you fix it for me, Archpaw?"

Archpaw shook her head. "No, sorry. I feel a little sleepy right now. Maybe later?"

Twigpaw frowned. "Sure," he sighed.

. . .

Rainstorm came a little late, but she was able to take Archpaw out at sunhigh for a tour. Warmpaw and the two other apprentices went out to train as well. Thankfully, this was one of the days where they were training together.

Twigpaw and Warmpaw were sparring.

Warmpaw swiped away at Twigpaw with his paws, trying to land a clean hit. Twigpaw was doing nicely in avoiding them. He ducked, weaved and leaped to dodge all of Warmpaw's blows. Warmpaw was inwardly purring however, seeing that Twigpaw was beginning to slow down. He faked a swipe, quickly switching paws to swipe from the opposite direction. Twigpaw was caught unaware as his opponent's paw landed on his muzzle.

They stopped, both apprentices panting hard.

"Nicely done, Twigpaw," Flyingfeather meowed assuringly.

Warmpaw waited for Goldenfur to say something, but he was occupied talking with Blazetail. Warmpaw's tail drooped.

Flyingfeather gestured with his tail. "Switch."

As soon as they positioned themselves, Warmpaw spotted Twigpaw's hard glare cutting through him.

"Begin."

Warmpaw barely had enough time to jump back to avoid Twigpaw's lunge. Twigpaw swung at his head, and Warmpaw ducked, the paw cuffing his ears.

After the initial shock, he quickly organized himself and calmed down. Pretty soon, he found himself in a pattern, and Twigpaw's jabs became easy to dodge. Warmpaw had practiced many times before with Goldenfur, and compared to his mentor's swipes, the ones thrown by his littermate were slow.

Warmpaw evaded another swipe, passing over his head with a loud whoosh. Warmpaw was thankful that didn't land. Twigpaw may be slow, but he's strong.

"You're doing a very good job, Warmpaw." Blazetail said. "Twigpaw, move a little faster."

Twigpaw muttered darkly to himself as he forced himself to make his swipe snappier. Warmpaw felt a strong swipe brush his whiskers, making a cold feeling rush down his spine.

The black-patched cat smirked, fired up. Now this is for real!

Twigpaw and Warmpaw were suddenly a whirlwind of paws and fur. Twigpaw was quickly swiping from everywhere, in every possible angle and in every possible direction. Warmpaw did his best in avoiding him, fluid in his movements as he slinked past anything Twigpaw could throw.

"Don't be reckless!" Flyingfeather warned, "You're exposing your side!"

Twigpaw was getting frustrated. He moved in a little closer. Warmpaw grunted as he jumped back to avoid another blow. Now that Twigpaw was closer, it was getting harder to dodge him.

Warmpaw jumped to avoid a lunge for his foot. Twigpaw slid under him, skidding to face him again. He then launched himself at Warmpaw while he was turned, pinning him down with his heavier body.

Flyingfeather raised his tail. "Okay, that's enou—" Twigpaw didn't seem to hear.

The silver tom raked his claws down Warmpaw's sides. Warmpaw yowled in pain; his pelt felt like it was on fire, white flashing in his vision.

Flyingfeather rushed forward and separated the two, dragging Twigpaw off Warmpaw. "I said that's enough!"

Sandpaw watched, horrified. Blazetail stood up and quickly ran up to Warmpaw, face worried as he examined him. "Twigpaw," he muttered, seeing the deep gashes, "you aren't supposed to use your claws on your clanmate."

Goldenfur's eyes were wide in shock, racing over. "Quick! Place him on my back!"

Blazetail quickly complied, grabbing the injured apprentice by the scruff and placing him on Goldenfur's back. The ginger tom went back to camp as fast as he could.

. . .

When he woke up, Warmpaw's senses were slightly dulled. He could see Deerpaw beside him. The medicine cat apprentice was sorting some herbs. "Good, you're awake," he greeted him.

"Where am I?"

Deerpaw shrugged. "The medicine cat's den." He went back to arranging the herb stocks. "You got pretty roughed up in training. Cloudcover and I put cobwebs on your wounds, then we gave you a poppy seed just to relax you a little. We decided to patch them up, since they were a little more than a minor injury."

Warmpaw shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Deerpaw looked over once. "That's what the poppy seed does," he explained, "Don't mind it, and you'll be fine in a few heartbeats."

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Sunset." Deerpaw replied curtly.

Goldenfur poked his head into the den. "Is Warmpaw awake?" he asked as he entered.

"Yes, he's awake. He has to stay in here for tonight though."

"You're weak, Warmpaw," Goldenfur said snidely, "When you get swiped, you swipe back! You fell down and bunched up like a rabbit. Disappointing." With that, he left, the brambles catching on his fur on his way out.

Deerpaw shot Warmpaw a sympathetic look. Warmpaw sighed. "Don't worry. I'm used to it by now."

"You didn't reply to him."

"That really is just how it is between me and Goldenfur. At least he isn't tearing my fur out."

"Warmpaw!" Archpaw burst through the den entrance.

Warmpaw's eyes widened, moving his tail to block her from catapulting into him. "Wait! Can't move!"

Archpaw slowed to a stop, hurling questions at him. "Are you okay? Does it hurt? What happened?"

"Calm down, I'm fine. It's just a few scratches." Warmpaw gasped. "You surprised me!"

"Twigpaw did this?" Archpaw questioned, looking at the poultices the medicine cats applied on him.

Warmpaw nodded. Archpaw growled, claws sinking into the tough earth floor.

"Can you call him over?" Warmpaw requested.

"I'll do it, Warmpaw," Deerpaw offered. "Archpaw looks like she isn't in the mood to see him right now." He smiled at the cream she-cat. "You may leave."

Archpaw huffed forcefully and exited. Deerpaw followed. From inside the den, Warmpaw could hear a hiss. Was that Archpaw?

Twigpaw came in, looking scared with Deerpaw escorting him. His eyes looked wild, with his tail lashing as he avoided Warmpaw's gaze.

Warmpaw's ear twitched. "If it's okay, I would like to speak with Twigpaw alone."

"Okay," Deerpaw complied, leaving the den.

Warmpaw looked at Twigpaw, seated in one corner of the den. He still wasn't looking at him.

Warmpaw chuckled. "What happened there?" he laughed.

Twigpaw refused to answer him, still with a scared look. Warmpaw meowed. "Hey! Don't give me that! It's okay."

Still no reply.

"Fine, then," Warmpaw mewed tensely. "If you want to play it this way, then that's okay as well." He lashed his tail. "Why did you use your claws on me?"

Twigpaw turned to look at the clawmark Archpaw made on the floor. He faced Warmpaw sadly. "That's Archpaw's?"

"Yes, that is." Warmpaw sighed. Twigpaw began shaking, paws trembling and his jaws open.

Warmpaw looked into his eyes. "Are you angry at me?"

"No, I'm not!" Twigpaw cried.

Warmpaw looked at a poultice plastered to his side. "I don't understand, Twigpaw."

"I was annoyed at you this morning, since Archpaw groomed your tail and she didn't fix up mine. That carried over until when we were sparring, and then you managed to land a hit on me. I wanted to get you back, but none of my swipes were hitting and Flyingfeather was beginning to get frustrated and I…"

Twigpaw blinked. "When I managed to get you, I just shredded you. I couldn't control it."

Warmpaw's heartbeat slowed down. That clarified things. "You were jealous of me?" he asked with a perplexed look.

Twigpaw couldn't answer, but he couldn't have said it any better with the guilty look on his face. He decided to speak up. "You two are incredibly close."

Warmpaw beckoned Twigpaw over with his tail. Twigpaw hesitantly came closer. It was close enough for Warmpaw to whisper in his ear.

"She's my best friend and for now, it looks like it will stay that way." Warmpaw rubbed his head a little against Twigpaw's. "You're unpredictable. That's fine, but you should know when to stop."

"Thanks, Warmpaw."

Warmpaw smiled. "You're my friend! I could never get angry at you forever."

Twigpaw purred, eyes widening as he looked at Warmpaw. "I can't believe I did that to you!"

"You know, if you really wanted to hurt me, you should have gone for my tail."

Twigpaw smirked. "Thanks for the advice."

"And I shouldn't have said that." Warmpaw mewed, petrified.